Gifts
by LiquidxIce
Summary: A story featuring the childhoods of Naruto and Sakura and how they may have met. Somewhat friendship, somewhat sad.   Kept it canon.
1. Prologue

The gifts started early.

Sakura started school excited and happy, jabbering away to her mother about the new friends she would make and the stuff she would learn. By lunch on the first day, she was almost in tears. Nobody had talked to her. She felt like they all were already friends, and were avoiding her. What was wrong with her? Nobody had ever said anything to her saying that something was wrong.

Several other children were also having trouble. A little girl with short dark hair and pale pupil-less eyes was much too shy to talk to anyone. An older boy with a black braid ran crying away when the other children laughed at his inability to do ninjustsu. And a small boy with big blue eyes and a dirty face stood at the edge of the playground, staring out at the other children, and wondering why he was always alone. But Sakura didn't notice these other children. She only saw the girls laughing and playing together, a confident blond girl, and a pretty girl with purple hair.

Sakura walked home alone, dragging her schoolbag behind her. As she walked into her room, she started crying. Why didn't anyone like her? Did everyone already know each other? Maybe she was too shy. Maybe she had a stain on her dress. She walked over to the mirror. And. Then. She. Saw. It.

Her forehead. It was much too large. That must have been the problem. She was hideous. Who wanted be friends with someone so ugly? No wonder nobody wanted to talk to her. She flung herself down on her bed and cried herself to sleep.

xXx

Author Current Note:

Hi guys. This story was pretty popular way back in the day and a couple people have asked me where it went, so I'm putting it back up for you. Unfortunately, I wrote it years ago and when re-reading it, it kinda makes me wince. However, I have kept it in the original form, complete with the overly chatty author notes and melodramatic language I thought was so lovely at the time. Just so you know, when you read it, cut me some slack. I was very young.

Everything else from here on out was written by me at the original time of writing, including author notes


	2. A Gift?

The next couple of days were the same. Sakura dragged herself to school, but only her body was actually there. In a sense, it was almost a good thing that she was barely conscious of being there. Most of the professors kept the children from misbehaving by calling the miscreant down to the front of the class and embarrassing them while the other students laughed. By the time a week had passed, most of the children had been down to the front, especially a boy with a ponytail that never paid attention, the purple haired girl, a blond boy with whiskers, and a boy with a puppy.

Sakura knew enough of the lessons already to not get in trouble, but never paid attention to anything going on. She realized this especially when the children laughed at the kids called to the front, as she always realized everyone was laughing when it was too late to join in the mockery. Luckily, only one little boy quietly noticed she wasn't laughing, the small blond one, when he was called to the front yet again.

Sakura was staring straight ahead, willing herself not to cry, when the girl with purple hair asked her why she never talked. Ami, as Sakura remembered her name, was pretty and popular already, with devoted followers. Hoping Ami wanted to be her friend, Sakura replied without thinking, "Oh, you don't think my forehead is too big?"

The girl smirked, then burst out laughing. "You're right!" she exclaimed, "It is big! That's hilarious!" She called out to her friends, telling them the insult. Sakura stared at her in horror for a moment, then promptly burst into tears. Running outside, she could only yell at herself for telling the girl about her forehead. Now everyone would know about her deformity!

The news of the pink-haired girl's plight spread quickly. Although most of the kids weren't genuinely cruel, they quickly understood that joining Ami in her vendetta would keep her from turning on them. Before the end of the day, whispers surrounded Sakura, and she had been tripped by two separate children, one of them explaining loudly to the surrounding students that the light reflecting off of Sakura's head had blinded them, causing them to be unsure where she was standing.

It was only the second week of school, and Sakura felt like dying.

Sakura withdrew even more from the classes and other students, becoming shy and almost silent. She had taken scissors and cut bangs for herself, zigzagging crookedly across her face in an attempt to hide her forehead. When her mother asked exasperatedly why Sakura thought it would be a good idea to cut her own hair, Sakura only replied that she wanted bangs.

The only time she felt sure of herself was when a teacher asked her a question. Realizing she had an edge over the other students in this arena, she threw herself into studying, all the while attempting desperately to keep her parents from finding out. The girl somehow came to the conclusion that if her parents found out about her shame, they would also realize her ugliness and cast her away.

After another week of emotional torture, Sakura was surprised to find a small bouquet of wildflowers on her desk when she came to class in the morning. She looked around quickly; first assuming that they were for someone else, then believing it was a prank. She reached out with a quivering hand, and picked up the flowers. Nothing happened. Looking around again, Sakura clutched them to her heart, and then carefully placed them in her lap during the lesson.

As sly glances were exchanged all around her, a girl asked her why she hadn't cut her hair long enough to cover her entire face. "Because, you know, it's so ugly. Get it?" Tears welled up in Sakura's face again, but as she looked down at the homely bouquet, she forced them down again. Somebody liked her. Somebody thought she was worth picking flowers for. That was all she needed.

Over the next few days, every time Sakura came in to class, a small present was waiting for her. A shiny pink pebble, a cookie, finally an acorn with a smiley face carved onto it. Each day, Sakura looked around suspiciously, then pocketed the gift. She put the pebble on her dresser with the dying flowers, ate the cookie at lunch with a small smile,(it tasted horrible, but she didn't notice), and placed the acorn carefully on the center of her dresser so she could see it when she got up in the morning. The gifts began to be the reason she came to school in the morning, the way she got through the day. Every morning, she looked around, trying to guess who they were from. Who would like her enough to go looking for shiny rocks, pick flowers, bake cookies, and carve a happy face into the tiny surface of an acorn? Who would do all that work and not even take credit?

One afternoon as she left the classroom, she left a note on her desk.

_Who ar you? Ar you my frend? Do you wont a prsnt?_

_Lov,_

(drawing of a flower) (A/N 2)

She didn't want to sign her name, still afraid that the gifts were meant for someone else, so she drew her namesake, a flower.

She spent all night worrying, then ran to school in an attempt to get there early enough to see the mysterious gift-giver. As she entered the classroom, she saw that it was empty, but there was a piece of paper with a band-aid lying on top of it. Looking inside the letter, she read

_I wont to b frends. Yoo ar nice. Smiyall mor!The banade is for yur nee._

_Lov,_

(drawing of a happy face)

She picked up the band-aid and looked down at her knee. A girl had pushed her onto the cement yesterday, scraping her knee. She peeled off the pink, flowered band-aid wincing, and put on the plain little thing in front of her. Smiling, she went outside.

Author's Notes:

Sorry, I didn't put any on the last chapter; this is my first fanfiction so I'm still figuring everything out. I might have made this a bit too mysterious; if anyone has any questions I'll try to answer them!

A/N: I actually went through my old stuff from kindergarten to see how I spelled everything. "Smiyall" is really how I smelled "smile", etc. The only things I made up were "nee" for knee, "banade" for band-aid and "yoo" for you.

Please review! Especially if you think anyone is out of character or if it doesn't fit with the original storyline.


	3. Iruka

It was the day before school began and Umino Iruka was furious. He was definitely not ready for a challenge like this. Why hadn't anyone thought to inform earlier that the kyuubi kid was going to start school, to be in his class?

He didn't have anything against the kid personally, but the thought of having the demon in his class, even in its carrier, made him feel sick. It had been only five years since he was dragged screaming from the battlefield, knowing he'd never see his parents again. Five years of living on his own while envying the closeness everyone else seemed to share. And now to face the cause of all his suffering, even in the shape of a little boy, seemed completely overwhelming. He only had one year of experience in teaching, he couldn't handle an obstacle like this so early.

Iruka sighed and reflected more on the boy, trying to focus on the child instead of the beast. Iruka had never seen Uzumaki Naruto; he had always avoided anything to do with the fox. The only thing he knew was that many people blamed the kid for everything that had happened half a decade ago, and caused trouble for the child. Iruka couldn't really understand this. Even in his worst moments he only hated the demon the kid carried, never the child himself. Iruka heaved another sigh and turned off his light, willing himself to fall asleep as he stared at the ceiling.

xXx

Iruka was surprised that he had not even glimpsed the child at the end of the first week, though the kid was supposed to be in several of his classes. As he ranted to his friend Mizuki, he realized the reason himself. "There are so many kids milling around, it's not even funny! We don't even bother taking roll the first month. Half the kids aren't even properly enrolled, and even in those who are, another 1/3 will drop out by the end of their first year. All the parents want their children to have the honor of becoming ninja without realizing all the work that comes with it! And that's before they even graduate. When they become genin, they'll have twice as much work and their lives at stake every day. But their parents don't even consider that now, all they think about is bragging that their kid is in the academy…" Iruka rolled his eyes while Mizuki listened sympathetically.

Deciding avoiding the Uzumaki kid wasn't solving anything, Iruka asked around with the other professors about the child. Startled, he heard the kid was in trouble many times a day. When he attempted to discover what exactly Naruto did, answers were not so forthcoming. Most simply shrugged the query off, or answered he was "impudent" in his expressions and even posture. A large number cited the excuse "he asked too many questions". When Iruka tried to clarify further, asking if the questions were off-topic, the other teachers admitted they had to do with the lesson, but were things any kid should know coming into the academy. Iruka's heart lurched when he realized the end of the unfinished sentence. They were questions any kid with a ninja family should know when coming into the academy. Iruka vowed to pay more attention in an attempt to locate the mysterious Uzumaki Naruto.

However, Iruka found everything more and more busy as most of the kids lost their shyness. The most troublesome ones were Nara Shikamaru (although his father was a respected ninja, this kid had no motivation), Inuzuka Kiba (he mostly behaved but the puppy wasn't potty-trained), and a sweet looking girl whose last name he couldn't remember, but went by Ami. Whenever some child was crying, Ami was in thick of it. Though Iruka didn't like to get involved in problems between students, he found it necessary to intervene several times when Ami reduced one girl, Haruno Sakura, to tears as she did several times a day. Iruka wasn't sure why the Haruno girl seemed to be such an easy target, but it kept his plate full trying to keep basic order in the classroom.

xXx

The elusive attendance sheets finally arrived with the second month of school. Iruka was actually nervous when his voice finally called "Uzumaki Naruto" but he was aghast to find the quiet "present" that answered him came from a tiny child so unobtrusive Iruka had talked to it several times without recognizing him. In a strange way, Iruka had almost been expecting the kyuubi itself to be sitting in one of the miniature desks.

Surprising him, Iruka's heart filled with pity as he watched the little thing stare forlornly at the other children as Naruto sat alone at lunch. Naruto was, Iruka reflected, the most pathetic looking demon he had ever seen. The poor thing was tiny. The only one who could even compete with Naruto stature-wise was the little Hyuuga heir, and even the slender Byakugan user probably had a couple pounds on the kyuubi's holder. Iruka wondered if he was getting enough to eat. He certainly needed a bath. Frowning, Iruka reminded himself that within the child was the reason his parents were dead. Yet, he couldn't really summon up any anger.

His attention, however, was diverted when Ami reduced Sakura to tears once again. As Iruka was about to intervene, Sakura gulped, reached into her pocket, and pulled out what appeared to be… an acorn? Apparently it comforted her, since when she squeezed it and looked into the eyes of her tormentors she shivered, but was no longer crying. Puzzled, Iruka noticed Naruto was also watching, an undecipherable expression on his face. Sakura turned away and walked calmly from the bullies, only sniffling a little. Iruka looked at Naruto again. It almost looked like the boy had a small smile on his face as Naruto turned and walked slowly in the opposite direction.

Shaking his head, Iruka decided to focus his attention on the two most obvious problems: Sakura and Ami, and Uzumaki Naruto's well being. Iruka wasn't all too sure Naruto had all the basic necessities, as it definitely looked like he had been wearing that t-shirt and shorts the entire week.

As Iruka focused on his two "missions" the next few weeks, it almost seemed like the two were coordinated. Sakura appeared happier and more talkative while Naruto seemed only to get dirtier, scrawnier, and for some reason, also more happy. When Naruto got to the point he looked like he would waste away at any moment, Iruka decided he would have to take more action than observation at school.

"Naruto? Can I talk to you for a moment?" Iruka asked one day at the end of school. Naruto started and looked guilty, but slowly trudged over. The closer he came, the worse Iruka noticed he looked. His tiny body shivered through the thin t-shirt, winter was coming; and bruises and welts went up and down his arms. Iruka heard the kyuubi kid got trouble not only from other students, but also villagers. Could the injuries be the result of that? "Hey Naruto," Iruka asked softly, "Do you want something to eat?" The kid snapped up his previously lowered head and looked at Iruka suspiciously. Something behind those guarded eyes made Iruka feel uneasy. They were too old for someone his age.

After regarding Iruka carefully for a moment, the kid nodded slowly. Iruka grabbed the candy bar he bought earlier that morning for this very occasion. Offering it to the little boy, Iruka asked, "Are you getting enough to eat?" Naruto looked up at him angrily after taking the bar.

"Why do you want to know?" he demanded, his posture again stiff and defensive. Iruka chose his words warily.

"It's my job to make sure all my students are okay," he answered slowly. "I check to see if the other kids are alright and if anything seems wrong too." Again came a stare from the little boy.

"I'm saving my money," Naruto finally answered. "So I have to skip lunch. And sometimes dinner. But it's no big deal."

"What are you saving your money for?" Iruka asked, sincerely interested. He thought everything was provided by the hokage.

"To buy… pretty things," the boy responded enigmatically. "Or I skip dinner so I have more time to make… pretty things."

"Pretty things…?" Iruka asked dumbfounded. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but this was not it. "Why 'pretty things'"?

"Because… she likes pretty things," Naruto muttered, turning away and ending the conversation. Iruka stared after him as Naruto walked away. Pretty things? Who liked pretty things? What was Naruto talking about? What was he hiding?

xXx

Try as he might, Iruka was unable to find out more about the 'pretty things'. He was however, able to feed Naruto the few times Naruto would accept. The kid had a surprising amount of pride for someone so young, especially for someone with so little. But every once in a while, Iruka was able to hand off some candy, a snack, once even an instant ramen. The child seemed to enjoy that the most, so Iruka stored some in his desk in an attempt to both bribe some information out of the kid and simply to keep him from starving. Even when he was able to get some food into the child, information was not forthcoming. The most the boy said once was, "… nice, didn't laugh," but it sounded like an accident, and Naruto refused to say anything else to Iruka for several days.

On the other hand, Sakura seemed to be becoming happier and better-adjusted the more time passed, although she had an odd habit of pulling trinkets and pieces of rubbish out of her pockets and holding them whenever Ami or her friends teased Sakura.

Suddenly, it seemed like Sakura had found friends. She followed Yamanaka Ino, the confident and popular member of the Yamanaka clan like a lost puppy, and Ino seemed to tolerate her presence with good enough humor.

Again, Iruka marveled at the coincidental nature of his two missions. Whenever one seemed like it was succeeding, the other plummeted. Almost, it seemed, the very moment Sakura found her friends, Naruto became dejected and isolated; refusing to speak almost at all, not only to Iruka but to the world in general. Iruka sighed another time and set to work on befriending the small boy yet again.

xXx

Author's Notes:

I'm not as happy with how this chapter came out, something seems not quite right, so I might be editing it depending on reviews.

Um, as you can see, I made Naruto one serious little dude. Whenever there are flashbacks to his childhood, he's always standing alone and glaring, sometimes looking almost scary. From what I've seen of the anime and from watching little kids, I thought that he probably was more isolated and unnoticed when he was smaller and picked up pranking around seven or eight when he figured out he could get negative attention for it.

Also, as for Iruka being upset with having Naruto in his class, I thought he probably started out kinda freaked out with the idea in principle, but became fond of the actual child. Oh, and I don't know exactly when Iruka started teaching, but I read somewhere he was 26 at the beginning of Naruto, making him 18 when Naruto was five. So I basically tried to give a rough estimate of ages. And about Naruto getting all moody when Sakura finds friends: he's jealous. I'll probably explore that more in the next chapter.

Lessee… anything else… please review! Constructive criticism welcomed, don't worry about offending me, I'm not at all sensitive. I might have made it too mysterious… not sure. So if there are any questions, I'll answer them.


	4. Friends

Sakura was feeling cheerful since she had on a new outfit. As she looked in the mirror while getting ready for school, she struck a model pose and winked. Then she giggled – too silly. But still, everybody would have to like her better now; her forehead wasn't even that noticeable! And maybe she would even make a friend! Smiling, she walked to school with her head whirling with pictures of friends and giggling.

Although no present was found today, Sakura didn't take it personally. She justified to herself that since there was a lot of homework last night, the gift-giver probably just didn't have enough time. She prepared to walk home, but was cornered by Ami. Ami was furious that the teasing appeared to affect Sakura less and less. "You think you're great, don't you?" she yelled at Sakura. Sakura flinched like she had been slapped.

"No…" she whispered looking frantically everywhere but at Ami. She reached into her pocket for the gift of the day to grab, but nothing was there. Ami continued, her face twisted with anger.

" You better not! You're nothing! Nothing but an ugly horrible teacher's pet! Yeah! Don't think everyone doesn't notice how you always want to answer all the questions! Well nobody will like you anyways! Because everyone hates you! You will never have any friends. Ugly forehead girl! Why don't you just go and die!" Sobbing, Sakura pushed past Ami and ran through the playground to the park when she tripped. Curling herself up into a little ball she could only replay the scene time after time. Why? Why did everyone hate her so much? Maybe she should just go die. Then everyone would leave her alone.

"You always get called forehead girl and get picked on, huh?" Sakura started and looked up. There was the confident blond girl Sakura always wished she could be like.

"Who are you?" she asked, wondering more why the girl was speaking to her, but not wanting to ask in case the girl realized her mistake and left Sakura.

"I'm Yamanaka Ino, what about you?"

"I'm…" she didn't want to say, in case the girl, Ino, had mistaken her for someone else. If she told, maybe Ino would realize that Sakura was the ugly forehead girl. But Ino kept looking at her expectantly. "… Sakura," she whispered.

"Huuuuuhh?" The girl asked. Sakura's heart fell. Her worst fears had come true! The girl just figured out who she was! Then the girl finished, "I can't hear you. Speak up."

"Haruno Sakura!" Sakura almost shrieked, closing her eyes and preparing herself for doom. Then something touched her forehead. She opened her eyes to see that the girl was tapping her.

"I see. So your forehead is wide. Which makes you forehead girl," Ino said, smiling and pushing Sakura's forehead back with her finger. Sakura's stomach lurched and tears gathered in her eyes again as Ino put her hand on Sakura's forehead. " That's why you hide your forehead with your hair… Just like a ghost." Sakura's shoulders heaved as she tried to swallow her sobs unsuccessfully. The girl smiled again and asked, "Sakura, right? Come here tomorrow too. I'll give you something nice."

"What?" Sakura asked, looking up.

xXx

Although all her instincts told her not to come, it was a trap; Sakura slowly trudged to the park after school. The girl jumped out, surprising her, and she shrieked and fell to the ground. "Sorry!" the girl said, laughing. "Come here and close your eyes!" Feeling certain doom was approaching, Sakura slowly stood up and closed her eyes. Something was twisting around her head. Then the girl announced, "Ta da!" Open them!"

Sakura opened her eyes and blinked. The world seemed much clearer. She realized her bangs were no longer in her eyes. "See? You're cuter this way, Sakura. I'll give you that ribbon." Ino stepped back, grinning at her handiwork.

"Thank you," Sakura slowly answered, trying to understand what had just happened. Then it struck her. A ribbon? In her hair, tying back her bangs? But then everyone could see her forehead! She tried to impress upon the girl the importance of her bangs. "But…" she started, wondering how to refuse the gift without offending the girl.

"But what?" Ino asked, sounding confused, apparently people didn't argue with her much.

"My forehead…" Sakura stammered.

The girl frowned, and pointed her finger to lecture Sakura. "You get picked on because you hide it."

Sakura started. That had never occurred to her.

"You're cute, so don't be afraid." Sakura stared at her. Cute? Was Ino blind? But the idea still wriggled into her thoughts. Maybe, maybe she could be cute. With Ino's magic ribbon, Ino's cuteness could spread to Sakura.

"Ino-chan…" Sakura whispered.

"Come on, meet my friends!" Ino said laughing. She had to grab Sakura's hand and practically tow her, as Sakura's legs were numb. They walked into a clearing where two boys and a girl waited.

"Who is that, Ino-chan?" the brown-haired girl asked.

"She's Sakura," Ino announced. "Come on, say hi to them," she whispered to Sakura, smiling. Shyness struck Sakura. Inching behind Ino, she plucked up enough strength to finally whisper.

"Hi…" she murmured, smiling.

xXx

It was an entire new world from that day on. In the mornings she had someone to talk to before school, she could giggle and whisper during class, she could eat with someone. Her _friends. _ The word was like magic to Sakura. And there was one thing she knew. Nothing would be more important than having friends. Nothing.

The day after she met Ino, Ami was set to torment Sakura yet again, when Ino stepped in front of Sakura. "What do you want to say to my friend?" she asked in a steely voice. Ami was shocked. "Your friend?" she asked, testing the waters. Everyone knew Ino and Ami were the two most popular girls. If Ami picked a fight with Ino, it would be a fight she might not win.

"Yes. My friend," Ino said staring Ami straight in the eyes. Ami backed off.

"Nothing right now," Ami said in a nice enough voice. It was ruined, however, by the way she glared at Sakura. Both of them knew that as soon as Sakura was away from Ino, Ami would have something to say to Sakura. Sakura gulped and pledged to stay as close to Ino as possible.

She may have overdone it. Everyone, including the teachers, noticed. There was almost never a second that she was apart from Ino. To her credit, Ino handled it pretty well, only telling her occasionally that she needed to back off a bit.

One person who did not take Sakura's puppy impersonation well at all was the mysterious gift-giver. Another note soon arrived.

"_Ar yoo still my frend? Do yoo still want preznts?"_

_Lov, _

(frowny face)

Sakura stared at the note in amazements before scribbling back,

"_A corse I am still yor frend! I luv presnts!_

_Hav a smiyall fase!"_

_Luv,_

(flower)

The next note arrived was even more sulky.

"Yoo look lik yur Eno's frend. Not mine. If I am yur frend, y do yoo need Eno? Yoo onlee need won frend."

_Lov, _

(Half-smiling, half-frowning face)

Sakura sighed. Why couldn't everyone be happy together? Now that she was happy her gift-friend was sad. She wrote another note, and attached the candy her mother gave her as a snack.

"Yoo ar my frend too. I wont stop bing yur frend beecuz Ino is my frend. I hav a presnt 4 yoo so yoo will hav a smiyall fase."

_Lov,_

(flower)

No more notes arrived, but a drawing of a smiling stick figure holding hands with another smiling stick figure soon arrived. Sakura grinned. Everything was going perfectly now.

xXx

Sakura was at the park with the brown-haired girl, who's name she soon learned was Umiko, (A/N) as they waited for Ino. As they walked through the paths, they heard lots of noise coming from in front of them. They came into the clearing and saw lots of children clustered around what appeared to be a fight. Several boys, one who looked to be a couple years older than them were fighting with a small boy that Sakura thought she might have seen in school, but she wasn't sure. The little blond one appeared to be losing badly, understandably since he had three opponents. As he was thrown out of the scuffle onto the pavement, Sakura asked Umiko whom he was. "Oh, that's Uzumaki Naruto," Umiko replied. "He's a bad boy. That's what my parents say. So it's good that he's getting punished." This made sense to Sakura, so she nodded and turned back to the fight.

Eventually the other boys lost interest and left the blond boy gasping on the pavement. He looked like he was going to be pretty bruised, but he didn't cry, he just looked angry. Suddenly he turned and met Sakura's eyes. Remembering he was a bad boy, Sakura stuck out her tongue and frowned at him. She didn't want anyone to think she was a bad girl like him. His face, previously so tough and strong looking, immediately crumpled, and his eyes filled with tears. He turned around and ran off, but Sakura could hear muffled sobs.

Wide-eyed, Sakura turned to Umiko. "Why did he cry?" she asked.

"He was getting beat up," Umiko supplied helpfully. Although the boy didn't start crying until he looked at her, crying when you get hurt made sense to Sakura, and she didn't think anymore about it.

"Ino-chan!" she shouted, seeing Ino, and they ran off to meet her.

xXx

Only Umino Iruka noticed the little blond boy was absent the next week, and though he heard rumors of a fight, he was too swamped to go check on the boy.

xXx

No presents came for the next few days, which upset Sakura. She shrugged it off finally, explaining to herself that since she had new friends now, she didn't really need anyone else. Even all the other students treated her normally now.

As Sakura was packing up to leave, her eyes hit upon something amazing. Across the room was the most beautiful boy she had ever seen. "Hey," she asked the girl next to her, "who is that?"

The girl looked at her strangely. "Don't you know?" she asked. "That's Uchiha Sasuke."

xXx

Author's Notes: 

A/N: I made that name up, I didn't find anything that said her name. If you watch ep 32 it shows the girl, and I found that name on babynamesworld(dot)com which is an awesome website.

Other than that, I thought it was a little awkward to have Iruka's POV in the middle of this Sakura POV chapter, but I didn't know how else to mention Naruto was absent, since Sakura doesn't notice him. So yeah.

As usual, please review, constructive criticism welcomed, don't worry about being to harsh… etc.


	5. A Change

Iruka groaned and looked at the clock. It was 5:00 pm. Deciding enough paperwork had been done for the day, he stood up and grabbed his bag, stuffing a couple of candy bars and instant ramen into it. As he walked toward his destination, he checked the address again. Since he got it from the hokage, it should be correct, but Iruka was always a worrier. The sky was cloudy and dark, and Iruka shivered and pulled his coat tighter. Looking around, he winced. This was not usually a neighborhood he would choose to visit, but it was where Uzumaki Naruto apparently lived, so he continued onward.

Apparently he had arrived at his destination. Iruka checked the slip of paper with the address again, but it told him that he was definitely at the finish of his walk. He looked up. Surprisingly, Naruto's house appeared to be in what could almost be considered good shape. The windows were all clean, and potted plants were placed around the doorway. Laughing mentally at the thought of needing courage to talk to a child, Iruka still held his breath as he knocked.

Nothing happened. No movement could be detected within the small apartment. Frowning, Iruka knocked again slightly more sharply. Finally, a rustle came from inside. Soft footsteps came closer, and a thin voice called "Who's there?"

Relaxing a bit, Iruka called back, "Your teacher, Iruka."

A pause, then "Why are you here?"

Iruka answered, deliberately keeping his voice light, "Just checking on you."

Naruto defiantly rebutted, "You never came to my house before."

"You never missed so much school before. Is it true you got in a fight?"

Naruto chose to ignore the question and simply replied, "I'm fine. There. You checked on me. Now can I go back to sleep?"

"Why don't you open the door? I brought some food, so we can have a nice meal. You shouldn't be sleeping now anyways. It's only afternoon."

"I'm not hungry," Naruto shouted. "I'm tired. I want to sleep. Why don't you just leave me alone? I don't want your pity."

Startled, Iruka took a step back, then sighed. "Don't be silly, Naruto. Why don't you just open the door? You know you're making up excuses." Why did he have to be so difficult?

Stubborn silence met his plea. Then surprisingly, the door swung open to reveal a small annoyed-looking boy. The expression of exasperation was amusing on such a tiny face.

"There. I opened the door. What do you want?" he complained.

Struggling to keep his amusement from reaching his face, Iruka nodded. "Thank you for being so mature about this." Stepping inside, he looked around. The apartment, though dark, was also surprisingly clean. Another flower in a pot was placed in the window above a rumpled looking bed. "Can we turn on the lights?" he asked. Without waiting for a reply he flicked them on.

To his relief, Naruto was not in such bad shape as he had imagined. Although he had a black eye and a couple other bruises, he was not seriously hurt. The only thing that disturbed Iruka was the look in his eyes. Before, he had been taken aback at the age of the child's eyes. As though the boy had seen far too much already. It had been unnerving in someone so young, but Iruka had eventually become accustomed to it. But that look was no longer there. In its place was something else. Iruka struggled to understand exactly what was so different. Finally he understood. There was nothing there at all.

"What?" Naruto asked, not sounding angry finally, just worried. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Iruka snapped his head away. "Sorry," he quickly said, shaking his head. "I'm just tired. Do you want something to eat?"

Contemplating, Naruto finally nodded. "Do you have any ramen?" he asked.

Smiling absent-mindedly, Iruka assured him there was ramen to spare. His mind was racing. Why did Naruto look so different? Why did his eyes look so… so dead? His thoughts shifted away from that thought, wincing.

Iruka poured boiling water into the ramen, his back facing Naruto as he asked again, "Is it true you got in a fight?"

No sound. Iruka turned and asked, "Is it?"

Naruto shifted his gaze around, not making eye contact. Finally his shoulders sagged. "Yes," he mumbled. Suddenly stiffening again, he said angrily, "It wasn't my fault! Why does everybody always blame me? I hate them!"

Surprised at the vehemence in Naruto's voice, Iruka mildly replied that he was sure everybody didn't blame him.

"Oh yes they do!" Naruto shouted. "Every single time! Well I don't care! I don't need them! I don't need anyone. I don't need anyone at all, just myself. I don't need her either!"

"Her?" Iruka asked, surprised.

Naruto clamped his mouth shut. Then, giving up on that, he burst out again. "She's just like everyone else! I was stupid to think she was nice! No one is nice." Looking at the floor again, he looked so pathetic Iruka was overcome with the desire to comfort him. Before he could say anything, Naruto pleaded, seemingly to the heavens, "but she didn't laugh. If she hated me, why didn't she laugh? She said she was my best friend. But now she has _Ino_…"

Iruka kneeled down near the boy. "I'm sure she doesn't hate you." Although he still wasn't sure whom they were talking about, it seemed hugely important to Naruto.

Naruto jerked his head up and looked at Iruka. "You think?" he asked in a small voice. His eyes were back to normal, trusting and far too old. Iruka took this to be a good sign.

"I bet she just had a bad day," Iruka answered, feeling immensely guilty. For all he knew, "she" did hate Naruto. It was most likely.

"Well…" Naruto said, deep in thought. "Maybe. Okay. She's still my best friend. But I don't care about everyone else."

Iruka stood up to pick up the ramen. "Here you go," he said, sliding one to Naruto. Naruto took it, still deep in thought. "I'll make them all notice me," he announced. "Then they'll all have to know I'm here."

"How about doing really great in school?" he suggested hopefully, thinking it was worth a shot.

Naruto looked at him with disgust.

"I still think it would be a good idea…" Iruka trailed off. "You're a smart boy, Naruto, just focus on the work."

Naruto sighed and nodded. "I know," he said. "But that won't make people notice me."

Deciding that he had probably done everything he could for the day, Iruka soon took his leave, after making Naruto promise he would go to school again the next day. To his alarm, he noticed Naruto's eyes slide back to the blank, dead form he had seen before.

xXx

The next day was a nightmare. Expecting a quiet day of review, Iruka had come to school relaxed and ready to see Naruto more cheerful. It was not to be. The instant he walked in the door an eraser immediately fell on his head, the chalk dust cascading around his face. As he coughed and batted the eraser of his head, he was able to make out a small figure shouting in a loud voice "Yes! It worked! Haha Iruka-sensei, I thought you were supposed to be a ninja!" while the other children laughed. Blinking, he realized it was… Naruto?

The rest of the day continued in that fashion, Iruka becoming increasingly upset and angry. Why was Naruto doing this? He thought Naruto liked him, actually cared about his opinion and approval. Apparently not.

At the end of class, Iruka called out he wanted Uzumaki Naruto to stay behind. The boy turned, looking cocky. "Naruto, can you come here?" Iruka asked, trying to stay calm. Naruto almost strutted over. "What the," Iruka started angrily, stopped and began again in a calmer voice. "Naruto, is something bothering you?"

Smiling largely so his eyes looked like slits, Naruto answered loudly, "No. I'm good. Why do you ask?" It looked almost like he was performing. Iruka waited for the last few students to leave.

"Are you angry at me, did I offend you in some way?" he asked a voice quite clearly upset under the initial calm.

"Nope." Naruto answered again, still smiling, but finally opening his eyes.

"Why are you trying to cause trouble for me and the class?" Iruka demanded.

"It's not just your class," Naruto announced proudly, "everyone paid lots of attention to me in every single class."

Sighing, Iruka rested his forehead on his hand. "You don't have to get attention from people being mad at you," he said quietly.

Deliberately looking unconcerned, Naruto rolled his eyes. Even when he smiled, they were still emotionless. "Can I go now?" he demanded.

Sighing, Iruka nodded. "Please remember what I said," he said quietly to Naruto's retreating back. "The best people will like you whether you're the center of attention or not."

Naruto continued walking out, the only sign he'd heard was his hand clenching into a fist.

Iruka spent the rest of the afternoon staring unseeingly at the wall, wondering what he had done wrong to make Naruto act this way.

xXx

Author's Notes: I wasn't trying to say he was going kyuubi or anything, just that he was hiding his feelings when they go all blank.

Other than that, I mentioned Naruto had a lot of plants, I read that one of Naruto's hobbies is gardening and Naruto gave Kakashi the plant in his room. So I thought I would use that. Again, please review! Thanks


	6. Worries

Sakura slowly walked over to her desk with her eyes closed. As she banged her shin against a chair, she silently shouted a word in her head that she had heard a drunkard use once when he was thrown out of a bar. Reaching out with her hands, she stretched and felt the desk under her fingertips. Fumbling, she pulled her chair out of the way and stood in front of her desk with her eyes still closed. Hoping desperately, she opened them.

Her heart soared as she realized there was on object lying there. Bending closer, she picked up the trinket. A rock with a hole bored through the middle was tied onto a piece of string. With delight, she realized it was a necklace. Sakura carefully turned it around and tied it around her neck, then tucked it under her shirt collar. She could feel the small cold pebble heating up. It was definitely the best gift yet. Not only because she could keep it with her always without people giving her strange looks, but because she hadn't gotten any presents recently, and she worried that whoever was giving them to her was mad at her.

As she pushed her chair back in and ran out to play before class started, she wondered again who her "secret buddy" as she referred to the gift-giver, was. Her cheeks reddened as she thought again of who she _hoped_ it was. Sasuke. Even his name was cool. He was cool, he was a genius, and his family had great respect in the village. What more could she want? Unfortunately, it seemed like every other girl had also realized how cool he was. When she ran to tell her friends about him, all she had to mention was that there was a boy she liked and they chimed in "Sasuke".

Still, she hoped. Sakura thought that once when she had smiled and waved at him, he had almost smiled back. He was probably just shy. That's why he didn't say the gifts were from him. Or maybe he didn't want everyone to be jealous. That was probably it. Sakura was glad Ino didn't like him too. That would be weird. But they could still be friends, even if Ino liked him; hopefully Ino wouldn't be jealous that Sasuke gave Sakura gifts. Sakura smiled and touched the necklace. She would always love it, she knew that much.

xXx

That day was great. Not only did she have the necklace and the comfort of her thoughts, a new boy was in their class. At least Sakura thought it was a new boy, she never noticed him before, though he looked familiar. He was so silly! The entire day, nobody could do anything but laugh. Still, Sakura noticed with disgust, he was just too strange. Even though everyone laughed, most of the laughter was at _him_, not at the jokes he told and the pranks he caused. Shaking her head, Sakura thought in mingled amusement and condescension that neither she nor Sasuke would lower themselves so much for attention. Even so, the kid added a lot more fun to the classes.

Strangely enough, the boy looked like he was about to say something to her after class, but Sakura realized she had to meet Ino. Besides, her newfound popularity was too shaky to risk yet, and the new kid looked like he might be lining himself up to be the class clown. Not really high on the social ladder, and Sakura remembered her vow. Nothing would be worth risking her friends. Yet, she couldn't help but feel guilty when he saw his face fell as she ran past him.

As she walked with Ino and Umiko, she mentioned the boy, expecting them to both laugh as well. Strangely enough, Umiko stared at her for a moment before whispering in a conspiratorial tone, "Don't you remember? That's Naruto. The bad boy we saw at the park?"

Stunned, Sakura searched back in her memories. He did look familiar… yet the bad boy at the park seemed so different… what was it? That boy seemed like he definitely could be bad… so angry. This one was silly and laughing. Sakura shook her head. It was a good thing she hadn't stayed to talk to him. Even worse than being friends with the class clown would to be friends with the one nobody liked. But why did she keep feeling twinges of guilt?

Maybe it was because she still remembered all too well what it was like to be the one nobody talked to. Maybe she would talk to him. Not to be friends, but just so that somebody talked to him once in a while.

xXx

"Um, do you, do you want to sit? Um, with me? At lunch?" The question hung in the air. "Just today, I mean. You wouldn't have to sit with me all the time. Or, um, you could sit with your friends, and I could sit near?" The little boy started looking very nervous under the plastered on smile. Sakura continued to stare. She had just been minding her own business… what brought this on? She opened her mouth to shout that she wanted nothing to do with a troublemaker when she remembered her plan to talk to him once in a while.

"Well, I kinda have to meet Ino…" she trailed off, "but maybe some other time…" Guilt was quickly spreading throughout her entire body. "I mean it, just not today. But sometime."

Before he could say anything else, Sakura quickly turned around and fled. She didn't mean to say no, but she really couldn't sit with him now! What if Ino found out? Then maybe Ino wouldn't want to be friends anymore. No, she definitely couldn't spend time with someone like Naruto publicly. Then when? She considered the question the entire lunch, with even Ino remarking Sakura was more quiet than usual.

As the teacher dismissed them at the end of the day and everyone ran out the doors, Sakura found herself timidly touching the boy's shoulder. He spun around quickly. "Hi…" she said shyly. "Sorry about lunch…" suddenly something caught her eye. She saw Sasuke over Naruto's shoulder. Oh no! He was still in the classroom! The worst possible person to see her associating with someone like Naruto! How could this happen?

"Oh hi!" the boy said excitedly. "Um, so, do you like, uh, I mean, HI!"

Even in the midst of her Sasuke-terror, Sakura couldn't help but laugh. What was wrong with this person? Finally, somebody even worse off than her. "I just wanted to apologize. I mean, because I had to meet Ino. It wasn't your fault. So yeah."

The boy stared at her for a moment, the ever-present smile replaced by a look of shock. "You're… sorry? For what?"

"Because I couldn't eat lunch with you." Sakura said, slowly. Maybe there was something wrong with him. He didn't look too smart… or did his ears not work well?

"Oh! No problem. It's okay, I don't mind. I didn't really expect you to eat lunch with me, nobody really does… um, not that I don't have lots of friends, 'cause I do. Lots of them. They just don't go here. Not to the academy. But really, I have loads of them. Lots of loads," he emphasized.

Sakura stared. She could barely understand what he was saying, he talked so fast. "So, okay. That's good then," she said.

"So we're friends?" he asked, casually.

"Uh, sure," she agreed without thinking. "Well, I gotta go. But nice talking to you."

The boy grinned even wider, something Sakura wouldn't have thought was possible. "'Kay! Bye!" he waved energetically, almost hitting Sakura in the face.

Shaking her head in puzzlement, Sakura left the classroom. She walked almost halfway home before realizing her plight. In the midst of the words being flung around the classroom like missiles, she had forgotten about Sasuke! When did he leave? OH NO! Did he hear her say she was a friend of that weirdo? Her life was ruined!

xXx

The next couple of days were uneventful, in spite of her fears. Nobody cornered her in the classroom shouting her association with the class pariah, Sasuke didn't suddenly announce to the world that Sakura was friends with the clown. She had even gotten a present every day of the week. So far so good. As soon as Sakura breathed a sigh of relief however, things changed.

A note arrived on her desk. With eraser marks and pencil gouges in the paper, it had obviously been rewritten several times.

"_Do yoo lik Narto? He is pretty weerd. But he is nise!"_

_Lov,_

_(smiley face)"_

Horrified, Sakura stared at the paper. Her worst fears had been realized. Sasuke had seen them talking, and he thought Sakura was friends with the freak. It wasn't true! She knew that. She had only said they were friends so the boy wouldn't get his feelings hurt. She had to make sure everyone knew the truth, even at the cost of Naruto's feelings.

Taking a deep breath, she apologized to him in her mind, then made her decision. She would never talk to him or be friendly towards him again. It wouldn't be too hard. She had no specific attachment to him but pity. From this day forward, nobody would ever think she had anything to do with him.

Scribbling in her haste, she scrawled back

"_Dont b silly! I hat him. He is 2 werd! I dont lik him at all!_

_But I lik yoo!_

_Lov,_

(Drawing of a flower)"

Sighing in relief, Sakura folded the note and left it for her friend to find. There. Now everyone was happy.

xXx

Author's Notes: Oh no! It's so sad! I'm sorry, I couldn't think of any other way she would act. It seems like Sakura has always shown she was willing to sacrifice Naruto for pretty much anything, especially if Sasuke's involved.

I'm kind of annoyed at the last couple of chapters, it doesn't seem like anyone has really liked them. So please review, it makes an effect on what I write, etc.


	7. Two Heads, One Fear

Naruto did not come to school the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that, and no gifts were waiting on Sakura's desk. She felt a twinge of conscience over Naruto's absence, but told herself it was probably unrelated. She did what she had to do… didn't she? No, she didn't worry much about the laughing boy's disappearance; her real fear was the lack of gifts.

It wasn't the gifts themselves, Sakura wasn't that shallow, it was the thought behind them. Especially before she had friends, the secret buddy was her most important person. How could they abandon her now? It was Sasuke, she was sure of it. Was it because of the Naruto thing? Was that why he thought her too lowly to pay attention to? But back when nobody else liked her, there had been presents. Sakura bit her lip. There was no point in dwelling on it, she decided. Everyone was allowed days off. She would just wait and see if presents came later.

Nothing was sitting on her desk the next day, or any day in the next week. Sakura slowly became more and more devastated. She knew she was a bit clingy and obsessive, even Ino had said so. She couldn't help it! She was just consumed with terror at the idea that everyone would abandon her again. Had she scared the gift-giver off? After almost two weeks of nothing from her secret buddy, Sakura threw caution to the wind. Feeling desperate, she neatly penned out a letter to her now-silent friend asking if she had offended them.

"_Too my frend: Im sorry if I was bad! Do yoo hat me now? I didnt try to mak you sad or mad! Wat did I do? __Pleez,__ pleez be happy with me! I need yoo!"_

Choking back sobs, Sakura placed the letter on her desk.

xXxXxXx

Fingers shaking, Sakura picked up he paper on her desk. It was the one she had left. Her throat caught and tears filled her eyes. Why? Why was her friend doing this to her? How could they just ignore the letter? Maybe they never were her friend. Was it all a trap, like she had thought in the beginning? Sakura crumpled her note into a ball as she willed herself not to cry. She failed. Tears streaming down her face, she tore outside, slowing down next to a large tree. Leaning against it and sobbing, she could only be swallowed up in her pain.

It was worse then before Ino had found her, because she had always trusted the gift-giver most of all. Her faith was shaken down to the core. Dropping the crumpled note onto the wet grass, she clenched the bark of the tree and wailed. Finally her sobs subsided and she sunk into the swing attached to one of the branches.

Ino found her there, grabbed her hand, and pulled her to the teacher. "Sakura isn't feeling well, can I take her home?" The teacher nodded and motioned for them to leave before everyone came in for class.

xXxXxXx

Sakura was almost non-functional for a few days, but eventually things returned to normal. The winter started warming up, though it was only February. Eventually hope came back to Sakura. She laughed and talked with her friends, did her homework, and obsessed even more over Sasuke. Had he been her secret buddy? Did he hate her? He didn't act like it. He never spoke to her, but he was polite enough when she greeted him. Sakura was completely confused, but decided that even if he was the secret buddy who had betrayed her; she couldn't help but love him. She would forgive him,. She could forgive anything for Sasuke.

A thought occurred to her. Valentine's day was coming up. Would Sasuke give her something? She had to get him something special. Sakura immediately set to work thinking about it.

xXxXxXx

xXxXxXx

xXxXxXx

Naruto stared blankly at the ceiling. He didn't know how long he'd been lying on the bed, just that it had been a long time. Staring harder, he focused on a knothole in the wood above him. Since he could see the dark blotch, Naruto finally concluded it was daytime. Probably evening, since it was pretty dim. Then again, with the windows closed and lights off it always looked pretty dark.

Naruto blinked and turned on his side, trying not to think. Of course, the more he tried not to, the more he did. Why? Why did everyone hate him so much? How could Sakura- No. He wasn't going to think about that. He had already screamed and cried everything about that out. He had already melted down and surrendered to his own pain, ending with him breaking his mirror with his fist.

Naruto looked at his hand. It was already healed. He almost wished it wasn't. It was better to have an obvious source of hurt to focus on, so he wouldn't have to think about… no. Not thinking about that.

Breaking the mirror had been fun. He had been staring at his face in the reflection, wondering what about it caused people to automatically hate him. Then he did the first thing any child did when they were upset. He had a temper tantrum. The big difference was that nobody was around to stop him.

He had thrown plates, kicked objects, and finally thrust his fist into the face of the person he hated most. Himself. His reflection instantly disappeared as the mirror shattered. The noise and pain had scared Naruto, but not as much as realizing how angry he had been. He abruptly stopped and swallowed his rage, pulling his bloody hand back slowly and looking at it, his eyes wide. How had he gotten so out of control? Finally, he did the obvious thing. He burst into tears.

Huddled down on the floor, his face in his bloody hands, he vowed once again not to depend on anyone. But then the picture of Sakura's sweet face swam into his head. How could he hate her? His sobs subsiding, he eventually washed off his rapidly healing hand and face, then climbed into bed.

He had stayed there, not getting up to eat or answer Iruka's persistent knocking. He knew Iruka couldn't come in without Naruto wanting him to, there was a jutsu on the doorframe preventing intruders, so Naruto just ignored him. So he stayed completely still on the bed, now days, maybe weeks later.

Considering the time, Naruto decided he had probably gotten up to go to the bathroom and to eat. He just couldn't remember doing so. He was still unsure how long it had been. Long enough for him to stop feeling quite so depressed and to start feeling restless. He felt like going somewhere. Where? Maybe the playground. He liked the playground, especially the swing. It made him feel like he was flying.

Slowly, he sat up and got off the bed. Not bothering to put on shoes, he walked outside. It had apparently been late evening, since the sky was now black except for a bright full moon. He walked silently to the school, not even conscious of his surroundings. Stepping through the icy grass, he wished he had put on shoes. As he was about to sit on the swing, he stepped on something that wasn't as cold as everything else.

Leaning over, he picked up a piece of very ratty paper. It had gone through some apparently tough times, and Naruto started feeling sorry for it. Gently unfolding it, he saw there was writing on it.

"_To my frend: Im sorry if I was bad! Do yoo hat me now? I didnt try to mak yoo sad or mad! Wat did I do? __Pleez__, pleez be happy with me! I need yoo!"_

It was signed with a flower, and Naruto knew exactly whom it was for. He felt warmer inside. She still did care about him. Then, stomach twisting, he realized the other part. He made his decision.

Sakura only liked him when she didn't know who he was. But she really liked who she thought he was. So he would be both. He would be the person Sakura needed in writing and presents, but stay away from her as himself.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto clenched the letter in his hand and ran home. Valentine's Day was coming soon and he had to make it spectacular for her.

xXxXxXx

Author's Notes: Oh my gosh that was so angsty… I'm sorry! There are only a few more chapters, (two maybe three) before the story ends, and one of them might be pretty dark as well, but hopefully it will be a bit more sunshiny in places…

KK… it's Me Trying To Be A Psychiatrist Time! (cue groans) Here are my thoughts. One, Sakura is not trying to be a bad person or hurt anyone, she is just weak. She wants desperately to be liked, to the point of not understanding how much people are affected by her actions.

Two, on Naruto's temper tantrum thingy. I babysit a lot, and when little kids get really upset, they don't know how to stop. The freak themselves out more by freaking out, and it feeds on itself. I think having the kyuubi as an underground source of random rage probably doesn't help with that. So that was my reasoning. He's not supposed to be emo.


	8. Valentine's Day

Sakura couldn't believe her eyes when she cracked open the classroom door. Everything was pink! "Sakura-chan! You match!" Ino shouted from inside the door. Blushing to match the décor, Sakura smiled and walked in. Her eyes flicked hopefully to her desk. There was nothing there. Trying to ignore the lump already building in her stomach, Sakura reasoned that it was still early in the morning, before class had even started. She would wait for Sasuke.

xXx

Naruto's eyes finally peeked open. What time was it? It was pretty bright outside… He looked at his alarm. Oh no. How could it already be that late? He shook the clock hopefully. If it was telling the truth, then class would be starting in twenty minutes, and he wasn't even dressed. He needed to get there before Sakura. The numbers didn't change. Jumping out of bed, Naruto pulled on a shirt and hopped around the room on one foot trying to get his pants on. Grabbing his shoes with one hand, he carefully lifted his treasure with the other. It was a large heart-shaped box full of chocolates. Naruto carefully made sure the card was still attached.

The box had cost him more than he cared to think about. He had to skip several meals and put off buying a new coat. But he knew Sakura was worth it. He couldn't wait to see her smile as she opened it. Somehow she would know it was really he, and then they would all live happily ever after. He just knew it. But first he had to get to school before her.

Running and trying to get his shoes on at the same time, Naruto almost tripped over the threshold of the school. Catching himself, he ran down the hall and thrust open the door.

xXx

Sasuke couldn't understand what was going on. He had only been minding his own business, why was there chaos surrounding him? He hadn't even known it was Valentine's Day.

He had come in the doorway expecting a peaceful day, when several girls ran up to him with presents. He could handle that; he muttered a thank you to all of them and slumped down in his desk, thinking it was over. But then a pink-haired girl came up to him on the verge of tears, asking him why he didn't get her a present.

"What? Why was I supposed to get you a present?" he asked, flabbergasted. She paused, her eyes wide.

"What do you mean?" she asked, "aren't you my secret buddy? I was waiting for this all year!"

xXx

Naruto overshot. He swung the door back as hard as he could and sprinted in. Unfortunately, he forgot that he wasn't the only one there. As he ran forward, he smashed into someone hard enough to see stars.

xXx

"Ooowww!" Sakura shrieked. "What was that for?" She was laying on the ground, some moron on top of her. She was too busy grabbing her head and trying to see if a lump was already forming to look who. The idiot still sat there. "Get off!" she shrieked, and dumped him on the side. Opening her eyes, she saw Naruto still sitting stunned from the impact. _Figures,_ she thought.

She grabbed the dented box on the floor next to him and was about to thrust it into his hands, when the card caught her eye. The handwriting looked familiar… Ripping the card off the box, she opened it up.

xXx

Blearily, Naruto opened his eyes. He cracked his head on the ground _really_ hard. Where was the box? He looked around in a panic. Wait, what was that? He looked over to his right to see Sakura staring wide-eyed at a card. His card. The card he had rewritten and rewritten and finally gotten to have not even a spelling error.

xXx

Dear Flower,

I will always love you. No matter what. Forever.

Love,

(Happy Face)

xXx

Sasuke looked around warily, then made his escape into the crowd.

xXx

"What… is… this…?" Sakura asked in a deadly voice.

Naruto could only stare at her and shake his head.

"What. Is. This?" she asked again.

Naruto choked out, "For you."

"Have you been the one the whole time?" she asked.

Naruto nodded dumbly. Complete and total misery surrounded him.

"I- I- I HATE YOU!" Sakura shrieked.

Naruto jerked his head back like he'd been slapped. "What?"

"You heard me! I thought it was Sasuke! I like him, not you,"

"Sasuke?" Naruto felt like he was falling.

"Yeah! I thought he was going to give me a present, not you!"

Naruto stared blankly at her.

"Are you stupid? Can you understand what I'm saying? I. Don't. Like. You. And I never will. And I'll especially never love you. I'm sorry. But I love Sasuke. And I always will."

"But, why are you mad at me?"

" I thought somebody actually liked me! I thought I was important to someone!" 

"You are! To me!"

"I thought I was important to somebody who wasn't worthless!" she hissed.

With that, she stood up and swept out of the room to find Sasuke.

xXx

Naruto didn't remember how he got home, how long he sat there dumbly. Uchiha Sasuke. Everybody knew him. He was cool. All the girls wanted to be his girlfriend, all the boys wanted to be his friend. Or him. _I hate him._ Naruto decided. _And Sakura too. They deserve each other._

xXx

As you can probably tell, I tried writing in several different people's points of view to try to add to the chaos of the moment, I'm not sure if it's a good result or not, you tell me.

Also, this chapter is pretty short, it was going to be longer, but since there was only going to be a very short epilogue if I continued, I decided to cut this off a little short and make a very short chapter and epilogue for the next and last chapter.

Yes, only one more chapter to go, for better or for worse. Please review and tell me what you think, I really appreciate it.


	9. And Epilogue

Biting her lip, Sakura thought about all that had happened. How could she have screamed at Naruto that way? _It wasn't my fault, he just made me so mad!_ She tried to justify it to herself, but her conscience would have none of it. Why did she try to hurt him? Because that's exactly what she had done, she knew that deep down. She was hurt and sad that Sasuke didn't care about her, so she took it out on Naruto, knowing he was the only one weaker than her.

Wasn't that what she had prized about him earlier? Wasn't that why she had been interested in him in the first place? Not like Sasuke of course, she didn't want him to be her boyfriend, but he had intrigued her. Since the very first day of school, it seemed so long ago already, she had been taught that popularity and friends were power. Since she had started out with none, it seemed all the more important to her. But there was Naruto, without friends or popularity, and it didn't even seem to bother him.

He was always smiling; she just assumed he didn't care. But apparently he did. He cared enough that when she yelled at him, he looked like he was going to cry. She ran off after Sasuke, both trying to keep up appearances, and also not to look at that horrible expression on his face. The expression of someone whose complete and utter trust had been broken.

Which brought her back to her first question. What was she going to do about it? She couldn't be friends with him. As much as she felt bad for her actions, she just couldn't exile herself back to being alone, even if she would be alone with Naruto. But she couldn't just leave him feeling so awful. Guilt pressed down on her. Why did she feel so awful about it? It was just a stupid boy nobody liked. If nobody else liked him, if nobody else was nice to him, why did she have to be?

He was her first friend. Her best friend. And up until recently, her only friend. The truth came crashing down on her again. She had just betrayed the only person who treated her like a human for months. _You should go back and be friends with him, _a little voice whispered to her. _NO! I don't want to! You can't make me!_ she insisted right back. _If I be friends with him, nobody else will like me. _She couldn't stand that. It would be all the worse since she had seen a bit of what being popular was like. People cared about her. They smiled. They talked to her. They treated her like she mattered.

_Nobody treats Naruto like he matters_. _Especially not you._ The little voice was bugging her again. _Shut up! _She hissed back at it. It wasn't her problem. _He made it your problem when he gave you the first gift. He made your problems his, it's the least you could do._ Kicking her legs back and forth under her bed as she sat on it, she looked around her room. As her eyes swept past her stuffed animals and a framed picture of Ino and she posing for a picture, they caught on something. A small acorn with a tiny smiling face carved onto it. It still sat on her dresser for all to see. It was a sign of pride, of hope. As she put it there months ago, she had been thinking to herself it meant someone liked her. And it had sat there ever since.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura got up and picked it up. Holding it in her hand, she looked unseeingly at the tiny scratches. She had come to a decision, the best she could think of. There was no way she was going back to being unpopular. She just couldn't be friends with Naruto. But she could apologize to him. How could she apologize so that he would understand it? An idea began to occur to her.

Naruto had always given her gifts. She had always treasured the presents, they were something she could keep. He couldn't keep an apology, he couldn't look at it and know that she meant it. But he could keep a gift. He wasn't going to be the giver this time, he would be the lucky one to receive. Nodding to herself, Sakura decided to give him a present. Hopefully he would understand. He would understand she was too weak to go against the crowd, but he would believe she cared at least a little bit. That she cared enough to apologize. That was all she could give him.

Looking out the window, Sakura chose her gift.

xXx

Dragging his feet as he walked into class, Naruto was stunned to see something on his desk. He looked around to see if it was a trick. Nobody was watching him or giggling. With his hand shaking, he reached out and gently picked up the object. A single branch of flowers was clasped in his hand. Cherry flowers. He picked up the sakura and put it in his lap. As the class went on, a short kid shouted that he was worthless. About to shriek back an insult, Naruto paused and looked down. Someone thought he wasn't worthless, someone thought he was important enough to apologize to. And he knew who. Smiling, he looked out the window at the trees.

xXx

~Epilogue~

"Naruto! Hurry up!" Sakura shrieked from outside his apartment. "We're gonna be late for our mission! Do I have to drag your ass down here? What is your problem?"

Smiling, Naruto looked down at his dresser. A dried branch of flowers sat propped up in an empty vase. They had kept him going, even when everything seemed hopeless. He would keep on going. The person who gave them to him didn't understand the reach of their gift. The flowers meant something other than just an apology. They meant hope. Looking at the cherry flowers one last time, Naruto took a deep breath and turned away,

"Coming!" he shouted down to the girl waiting outside, and ran out his door to meet her.

xXx

Author's Notes: This is the final chapter and epilogue. Hopefully it explained anything that didn't make sense, and clarified some stuff from the last chapter. If there is anything that should be explained or changed, feel free to tell me, I'm not sure if this story is final draft ready.

Please review, it would mean a lot, especially since it's the end. Thank you all for reading, especially to repeat reviewers, you've really helped me so much. This was my first fanfiction, and I hope you all enjoyed.

If you liked this or thought it had promise, please check out my other stories, I plan to write several other multi-chapter fics, as well as oneshots.

Thanks again for reading!


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